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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424421">Scarlet &amp; Emerald</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrJoCrafter/pseuds/MrJoCrafter'>MrJoCrafter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scarlet &amp; Emerald [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Touhou Project, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action &amp; Romance, Alternate Universe - Touhou Fusion, Anachronic Order, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama &amp; Romance, Everyone Adopts Midoriya Izuku, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks &amp; Flashforwards, Gen, Toga Himiko is Remilia Scarlet's Daughter, Vampire Toga Himiko, linear plot? what's that?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:01:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrJoCrafter/pseuds/MrJoCrafter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>At age four, Midoriya Izuku was orphaned.<br/>At age five, he was taken in by a certain vampire and her strange court.<br/>At age twelve, he left the Scarlet Devil Mansion.<br/>At age fifteen, he applied to U.A. Academy.</p><p>Now with a <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/ScarletAndEmerald">TV Tropes page</a>.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dabi (My Hero Academia)/Original Female Character(s), Hakurei Reimu &amp; Midoriya Izuku, Hakurei Reimu/Yakumo Yukari, Izayoi Sakuya &amp; Midoriya Izuku, Izayoi Sakuya &amp; Toga Himiko, Izayoi Sakuya/Remilia Scarlet, Kirisame Marisa/Alice Margatroid, Midoriya Izuku &amp; Remilia Scarlet, Midoriya Izuku/Toga Himiko, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Remilia Scarlet &amp; Toga Himiko, Todoroki Shouto/Yaoyorozu Momo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scarlet &amp; Emerald [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>85</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Tell me about them...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverlink07/gifts">Silverlink07</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Ugh, my parents won’t tell me anything about the war. I just want to know what happened, but no, I’m ‘too young’ and ‘I’ll learn when I’m older’, but I am older, and they still won’t tell me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other girl sipped her drink and giggled. “Well, you’re in luck, because my family has much more stories about that kind of thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Lily… are you kidding me? Your dad doesn’t seem like the ‘let me tell you about the war’ type…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no. He does the same thing. But my grandmothers, well, they were there too for most of it.” Lily said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well? Tell me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well, it all started when this sludge villain guy attacked DynaMight…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All Might was consistently surprised by the boy he had chosen to be his successor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was surprised when the boy had mentioned he was Quirkless, not because he believed someone of his heart couldn’t be, but because of the expert way Izuku had dodged out of the way of the explosions on his way to rescue Katsuki from the sludge villain; he had guessed the boy had some sort of agility quirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was certainly surprised when the boy had informed him he was self-dependent. He felt sorry for him (and started mentally drawing up adoption papers) but his living situation seemed almost suspiciously good for someone who didn’t have a job.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was very surprised when upon beginning his training regiment, which he thought to be rather harsh, Izuku took it in stride and didn’t even seem bothered. In fact, he had asked for harder training. All Might eventually expedited the time at which he would receive One For All.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was surprised when he took to One For All much better than Toshinori himself had all those years ago, using it like he had had it his whole life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And finally, he was pleasantly surprised when Izuku got a score breaking his previous record on the U.A. entrance exam.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Himiko was angry. Very angry. Almost three years ago to the day, (and you’d better believe she counted the days </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span>) Izuku had left-no, was taken-from the mansion. That brunette shrine maiden and the blonde witch (who she had considered a friend, even helped steal books from the library, that traitor) had taken him away along with her mother’s pride and Himiko’s happiness and will to live.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wished she would’ve done something to stop them. She rationally knew, of course, that she couldn’t have done much more than be a minor nuisance, but it still stung her to know that he was taken and she just… cowered in fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After her denial period and anger period (lots of destroyed walls) had passed, she bent her pride and went to the shrine to beg to be able to see Izuku.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu had coldly informed her that Izuku had moved away (to the outside world, no less!) some time ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Needless to say, by the next sunset, she had run like hell to the border. Of course, she seemed to just be running an endless plane, no outside world in sight. She kept running. And kept running. For hours and hours.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the next sunrise came, she broke into tears, pounding her fists on the ground. She yelled at whatever higher power was listening, resolving that she would much rather die than live without him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As it turned out, a higher power was listening. “Why are you trying to cross the border, young one?” a cold voice called out.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Green Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Well? What happened? The sun was about to rise… so…” Hotori said, on the edge of her seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Yukari let her pass after she had explained what had happened.” Lily said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Thought it would take more than that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it wasn’t exactly that simple…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please… I need to see him…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll let you cross…” Yukari said. snapping her fingers to create a veil of darkness around herself and Himiko. “under a few conditions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First of all, you aren’t to advertise yourself to anyone. We don’t want any… vampire hunters knocking on our door.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Second of all, you aren’t going to drag him back to the mansion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No buts. If you try, I’ll send Reimu to knock you out and drag you back here and I won’t let you leave again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… okay… I won’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. Now, you better get going while the spell is still active.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Himiko said, as Yukari snapped her fingers again and the infinite plane was gone, replaced with a mountain road.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Himiko scurried forth towards the strange lights on the horizon, looking for shelter from the upcoming day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT, IZUKU!” Patchouli yelled, flying after Izuku.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NEVER!” Izuku yelled, clutching the book he had taken. Izuku ran as fast as his tiny legs would carry him. Patchouli was quickly overtaking him until Himiko swooped down and grabbed Izuku, making a face at the librarian as she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kids flew around the large bookshelves of Voile, eventually overwhelming the librarian’s weak constitution, who admitted defeat and let them go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Himiko flew Izuku to an unused bedroom in the mansion (there were a lot of those) and cracked open the book.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>La Verda Koro</span>
  </em>
  <span>? What does that mean? What language is that?” Izuku asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” Himiko said. “I don’t know this language,” she said, flipping through a few more pages. (She actually knew quite a few languages, even at her age. This one eluded her for now, though.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They spent the next few hours flipping through the pages of the book, stumbling over every word and the strange letters. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“They have hats, Himiko!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Eventually they started to get the message and meaning of the book, which was actually rather sad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After they had been enjoying themselves for a while, Sakuya entered the room, sighing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you are. You should probably put back the book, kids, Patchy is going a bit crazy in there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never!” Himiko yelled, attempting to clutch the book to her chest. However, she noticed that the book was gone, and already in Sakuya’s hand. “Hey!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two are too young to be reading this one.” she chided. “Maybe I’ll read it to you when you’re older.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please?” Izuku pouted, doing his best puppy-dog eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Sakuya giggled, disappearing from view.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ojiro, you should probably stay outside.” Todoroki said simply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The battle will be over in just a few seconds.” he explained, as he put his hands down in front of the door, causing ice to spread throughout the entire building.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want me to do?” Masahiro said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay here and wait for them to call the match.” Shoto said, as he entered the building.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shoto walked through the corridors he had frozen, looking for any sign of his opponents. He was momentarily startled by a voice from behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a bit of overkill, you know?” Izuku said. “You could’ve dropped the whole building.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shoto mentally berated himself for not realizing that Izuku had been hiding among the ice of the walls. He looked Izuku up and down, noticing almost all of his body was covered in ice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should probably surrender. Being frozen is no joke,” Shoto quipped with a hint of frustration in his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I disagree. I’m fine right here.” Izuku said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not believing that for a second, Shoto thought he was simply stalling for time. He noticed something else about Izuku, saying “Where’s your cape?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I gave it to Ochako. Anyway, this ice isn’t even all that cold.” Izuku said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re bluffing.” Shoto said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not really.” Izuku said, flexing his arms. As he did so, the ice covering his body simply… shattered. “I’ve been frozen before, and honestly, that doesn’t really compare.” Izuku let One for All spread across his body, and charged at Shoto.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, class, who do you think was the MVP of this match?” All Might asked in his booming voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Midoriya!” several students yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright? Anyone care to share a different perspective?” All Might said. No one spoke up. “Alright then, Team B and Team E, get ready!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izuku and Ochako sat down, the latter still quite shaken up after having been frozen. Shoto eyed Izuku with a cold stare.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Blood, Sweat, and More Sweat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Under the light of a full moon, Remilia Scarlet flew above the dark forests of Gensokyo. In the middle of her flight, she felt… <em>something</em> that stopped her completely in her tracks.</p><p>Collecting herself, she realized that what she had just felt was her power over fate trying to tell her something. So, she touched down among the trees.</p><p>After looking around for a while, she heard a faint whimpering behind a tree. Around the tree, she saw a small, green-haired child.</p><p>She looked at the boy inquisitively, and he recoiled in fear upon seeing her.</p><p>After a moment, she said “What’s your name?”</p><p>“I-Izuku…” he said quietly and nervously.</p><p>“Izuku.” she repeated. “What are you doing out here all by yourself?”</p><p>“I… I don’t know…” he responded quietly.</p><p>“That’s alright,” she said, deep in thought. “Do you need some help?”</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>“Okay, come with me, Izuku.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, so my dad froze him over and he just… shrugged it off?” Hotori said, intrigued.</p><p>“Yeah.” Lily said, wiping the red off of her chin.</p><p>“What happened after that?”</p><p>“Well, the PLF--actually, it was just the League of Villains then, attacked the facility at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’ve heard all about that, can we just skip past that and get to the good part?”</p><p>Lily giggled. “You’re so impatient, sweetheart… but sure.”</p><p>“Yay!”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Class 1-A was waiting nervously in their classroom, wondering who would be teaching their class today after their teacher was injured.</p><p>In entered Aizawa, looking like a mummy.</p><p>“YOU’RE HERE TOO EARLY!” Iida said.</p><p>“What are you doing here? We thought you were in the hospital!” someone else asked.</p><p>Aizawa simply chuckled. “A hero’s work is never done,” he said. “And neither is yours. You may have defeated those villains, but your fight is not over.”</p><p>“W-we have to fight more villains?” Mineta said sheepishly.</p><p>“Fight? What fight?” Ashido said.</p><p>“The sports festival is in two weeks.”</p><p>Several people breathed a sigh of relief, and then thought about what he said for a second and held their breaths in again.</p><p>“WHAT??” someone yelled.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Most of the class was hating their current training. Mineta, Kaminari, and Sato had quit after five laps; most of the rest of the class had dropped out one by one after that.</p><p>After twenty laps, only Midoriya, Bakugou, Iida, and Ashido were left, the latter three using their quirks to go faster or prevent exhaustion.</p><p>“COME ON!” Bakugou yelled, somehow over the sound of his explosions. “HOW ARE YOU EXTRAS GONNA MAKE A GOOD SHOW IF YOU CAN’T EVEN RUN SOME FUCKING LAPS?!”</p><p>The bandaged Aizawa huffed. “As crude as he is, he’s right. You guys are nowhere near ready for the festival at this rate.”</p><p>The students who had stopped running groaned.</p><p>Tenya lapped Izuku yet again with the use of his Engine Quirk, and Ashido barely slid out of the way.</p><p>“AND YOU AREN’T EVEN USING YOUR FUCKING QUIRK, GREEN!”</p><p><em>So does he </em>want <em>to lose? </em>Izuku thought, activating One for All and spreading its power throughout his body. “You asked for it,” he said, speeding up to breakneck speeds.</p><p>Ashido tripped and fell trying to avoid Izuku, who quickly lapped all three of them several times. A dozen laps later, even Bakugou had to stop running after his finger muscles locked up.</p><p>Three more laps later, Iida’s engines stalled and he ran straight into a wall.</p><p>Izuku stopped, huffing and panting. <em>That was too much power to just show off. It feels like every bone in my body is on fire…</em></p><p>An annoying voice rang out across the field. “Well, Class 1-A can’t even run laps! How do they expect to beat 1-B in the tournament in the poor shape-” and was cut off by a blow to the neck.</p><p>“YOU WANNA FUCKING DIE, BLONDIE?” Bakugou yelled, trying to create explosions, but he just injured his hands further. “FUCK!!”</p><p><em>These students… They aren’t nearly prepared. </em>Aizawa thought.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>In the candlelit foyer of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Izuku waited nervously beside Himiko, who was antsy and irritated. She whined impatiently.</p><p>“It’s alright, Himiko… She’ll be back soon!”</p><p>“That’s what she said three hours ago!” Himiko whined.</p><p>Izuku had no response to that, so he just hummed sadly and leaned on Himiko. Irritated, she tried to pull away from him for a second before leaning closer in.</p><p>They sat there for a few minutes, just leaning on each other.</p><p>“You know…” Izuku said. “If you’re so hungry you can feed on me.”</p><p>“Really? I don’t… want to hurt you… or anything.” Himiko said, with a less irritated tone than before.</p><p>“You won’t hurt me, I’ll be fine!” Izuku reassured her.</p><p>Himiko took a deep breath. “Alright,” she said, grabbing onto Izuku. She put her lips close to his neck, and one hand through his hair. “Are you sure about this?” she whispered.</p><p>“Yes,” he whispered softly. Himiko’s fangs pierced into his neck. Izuku quietly yelped in pain as she began to feed from him, affectionately ruffling his hair as she did so.</p><p>After a minute, she slowly removed her fangs, and cleaned up the blood with a small handkerchief. She kissed the area she had bitten, holding tightly onto him.</p><p>“Just what are you two doing?” Remilia said, looking at the two.</p><p>Izuku turned red in embarrassment and failed to come up with any words.</p><p>“Leave me alone, mom.” Himiko said quietly, also looking embarrassed.</p><p>Remilia giggled at their reactions. Just then, the door opened.</p><p>“I’m so sorry I’m late, milady!” Sakuya said.</p><p>“Where were you?” Himiko asked her angrily, still holding on to Izuku.</p><p>Sakuya sighed. “Well, that annoying tengu was trying to get into the human village to do… something, I don’t really know, and she ran afoul of Kamishirasawa, one thing led to another, and I was standing a few feet too close, so I ended up erased from history, along with the whole village for… a few hours.”</p><p>“Are you okay?” Izuku asked.</p><p>“Yeah. I was just… drifting in the realm of nonexistence for a while. It was alright, I had some tea with Rin Satsuki.” Sakuya said.</p><p>“Who?” Izuku said.</p><p>“That’s not important.”</p><p>Remilia let out a chuckle at that one. “Well, Himiko got so impatient she decided to feed from Izuku’s neck.”</p><p>“Himiko!”</p><p>“You weren’t coming back…” Himiko said.</p><p>Placing her bags on a nearby table, Sakuya walked over to examine Izuku, worried.</p><p>“I’m fine…” he said sheepishly.</p><p>Putting her hands on both of their shoulders, Sakuya said “You need to clean those bites, or they’ll get infected.”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am.” Himiko said, picking up Izuku and carrying him off.</p><p>“Y-you don’t have to carry me! I can walk on my own!” Izuku protested.</p><p>“Yes, I do!” Himiko retorted, skipping away.</p><p>Remilia and Sakuya shared a knowing look.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Sports Festival: Begin!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“…And all of us should do our part to make the world better as aspiring heroes, support, and business students! Plus Ultra!” Izuku said, finishing his speech.</p><p><em>That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done… </em>Izuku thought, practically hyperventilating.</p><p>The audience cheered and applauded uproariously, as did most of the students, except Bakugou, Todoroki, and Monoma.</p><p>As Izuku stepped down, Midnight stepped back up to the stage. “Alright, competitors, it’s time for the first event: The Obstacle Course!”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Himiko sat down at a table, letting out a sigh of relief that she was finally out of the sun. She shrunk her parasol and waited to be served.</p><p>A waiter showed up to serve her a few minutes later, and looked more than a little bit concerned. “Are you alright, miss?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“You… uh… there’s burns on your neck,” the waiter said.</p><p>“Oh…” she said, covering the back of her neck. “I… uh… my quirk has a side effect that I… I sunburn really easily.”</p><p>“Oh.” The waiter said, seemingly convinced. “Would you like anything?”</p><p>“Just some hot pomegranate tea, please.”</p><p>“I’ll have that for you in a moment.” The waiter said, bowing and moving on to the kitchen. After he returned with a cup of tea, he said. “Are you watching these?” gesturing towards the diner’s TV, “they’re pretty spectacular.”</p><p>“Watching what?”</p><p>“Did you not know? The U.A. Sports Festival is today.”</p><p>“Ah. No, must’ve slipped my mind.”</p><p>The waiter left, leaving Himiko to her thoughts. <em>I do remember reading something about that in a book once. Apparently, it’s pretty spectacular… Izuku always said he wanted to compete in one…</em> Himiko thought.</p><p>She looked over to the screen, and almost dropped her tea.</p><p><em>“…And all of us should do our part to make the world better as aspiring heroes, support, and business students! Plus Ultra!” </em> a voice came from the monitor.</p><p>Himiko’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.</p><p><em>No way... there’s no way… It’s… it’s really him!</em> Himiko thought. <em>I can’t believe it… he looks so much older… so cute… Okay, get your mind out of the gutter there, girl. </em></p><p>Himiko’s eyes remained trained perfectly on the set for a few more hours.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Izuku sprinted forth, his speed enhanced by 5% of the power of One for All. Ahead of him were Bakugou, Todoroki, a girl with vines for hair he had heard called Shiozaki, and the pink haired gadgeteer girl from Support. After he cleared the massive canyon with most of the pack behind him, he made his way to the minefield. He took a deep breath, and focused the power of One for All into his legs.</p><p><strong>“WHAT’S THIS? IZUKU MIDORIYA APPEARS TO BE TRYING TO JUMP THE MINEFIELD IN ONE GO… OH, HE MADE IT OVER! MIDORIYA IS AT THE HEAD OF THE PACK!”</strong> Present Mic announced.</p><p>Izuku sprinted to the finish line.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“IZUKU MIDORIYA HAS WON THE OBSTACLE COURSE EVENT!”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>At that, Himiko nearly burst into tears. “Izuku…” she muttered under her breath.</p><p>“That was one spectacular jump! That kid’s got some quirk!”</p><p>Wiping a tear off her cheek, Himiko thought, <em>So he must have a Quirk now, huh. Did Yukari give one to him… or did it just develop at a certain age? I know… most of them develop at a very young age, but Sakuya did say hers manifested at fourteen? What is going on with him… Even still… I can’t wait to talk to him again. But… would he even… want me back?</em></p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>“Alright students! Let’s get ready for the third event: The Combat Tournament!” Midnight announced.</p><p>The crowd went wild as the screen displayed a roulette of names.</p><p>“The first match is… Izuku Midoriya… and…” Midnight announced, “Reiko Yanagi!”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Himiko watched in amazement as Izuku simply walked through the girl’s telekinetic quirk, building enough momentum to tackle her out of the ring.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“REIKO YANAGI IS OUT OF THE RING! IZUKU MIDORIYA IS THE WINNER!”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Himiko felt longing, the same longing she had felt immediately after he left, but much stronger. <em>I’ll see you again, Izuku. I’ll see you again…</em></p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>“Well, thank you for the stories, Lily,” Hotori said, checking the time on her phone, “but I think that both of us need to get going.”</p><p>“Oh, of course, you’re right,” Lily said, grabbing her bags. “Good luck on your internship. Still can’t believe that you got Hawks!”</p><p>“Me neither. I hope Unicorn doesn’t go too rough on you.”</p><p>“Please, Eri’s, like, my cool aunt. I’ve known her most of my life... but I’m still so excited we get to do active patrol!”</p><p>“I know <em>you</em> will do good, you’re… just so amazing.”</p><p>“Not half as amazing as you… but seriously, good luck.” Lily said, giving Hotori a kiss on the cheek.</p><p>Hotori turned red and covered her face, sputtering “Th-thank you!” Lily giggled at her reaction and skipped away with her bags and parasol.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Did You Hear?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Reimu Hakurei had had a very long day, thank you very much. Between dealing with disruptive fairies, a rabid reporter, magical forest fires, regular forest fires, and the shrine being a mess, she was very tired. She was about to get some well-deserved rest when she heard a knock on the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu sighed in agony. “THIS HAD BETTER BE IMPORTANT!” she yelled, annoyed. After a beat, she yelled “COME IN!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door opened and Yukari entered the room. “I’m so sorry to bother you at this hour, Reimu…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yukari? What is it this time?” Reimu said, starting to get out of bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, you don’t need to get out of bed.” Yukari said, sitting down at her bedside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank the gods…” Reimu said, breathing a sigh of relief and throwing herself back on the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the strangest thing happened yesterday,” she began, gently stroking Reimu’s hair, “I noticed that someone was trying to cross the barrier. Usually, they quit at it after a few minutes, but this one, well… she was at it for a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no…” Reimu whispered. “The Scarlet girl?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. She was in quite… the sorry state when I found her. Absolutely despondent, crying her eyes out and begging for death if she couldn’t be reunited with her beloved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what?!” she said. Yukari ran her fingers through her hair calmingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I demanded she explain herself. She told me how devastated she was when Izuku had left the mansion, and how much he meant to her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…” Reimu said, visibly seething with rage, “What did you do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, after I had determined that her motives were true and had her promise to uphold the masquerade, I let her leave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHAT THE HELL, YUKARI?” Reimu yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Himiko isn’t like her mother, Reimu. And if she screws up, we always have the option of dragging her back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> dragging her back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Yukari admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yukari… I love you but you… frustrate me to no end sometimes. Have you possibly thought about all the ways that that could go very, very wrong?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, yes I had. But what do you think the alternative was?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean… literally anything else than letting an unstable and bored vampire out into the Outside World?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The alternative was having Himiko go from sad, lonely and unstable to hateful, spiteful, and a genuine threat to peace.” Yukari said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re sacrificing Izuku for that?!” Reimu yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Yukari said. “He’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t think she’ll hurt him?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think he’ll be just fine…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu </span>
  <em>
    <span>slapped </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yukari for that one. “No, he won’t! You let a crazy vampire girl after him… he’ll be dead as soon as she finds him!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reimu… please calm down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO! FUCK CALMING DOWN!” Reimu yelled, tears streaming down her face. “IZUKU IS GOING TO DIE!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reimu, please…” Yukari wrapped her arms around Reimu, who squirmed to resist for a moment before taking a breath and relaxing into the embrace. “He’s going to be alright…” she whispered into her ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu was sobbing into Yukari’s shoulder at this point. “I… maybe I shouldn’t have let him leave…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did the best you could. He followed where his heart wanted to take him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t feel like that right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know… I know…” Yukari said, dragging Reimu back down onto the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” She asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Making sure you get some sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate you,” Reimu said, snuggling closer to Yukari.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alice is being a real pain to me… It's kind of infuriating." Marisa had come over for a bit of afternoon tea at the Hakurei Shrine with Reimu, and recounted a particularly unpleasant recent experience. "It's like she'll blow up at me over anything. I didn't even steal anything this time!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu laughed at that statement. "I think she's just into you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really? You think so?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah. She just doesn't know how to handle it healthily, y'know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marisa pondered what Reimu was implying for a second. "You know, I think you might be right. And it's you, of all people, giving romantic advice. How ironic."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu rolled her eyes. "Shut up. Anyway, speaking of bad romance…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, Yukari came over yesterday, and…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This seems to be about to edge into too-much-information territory."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu blushed. "Wh-what? No!? I'm getting to it, don't interrupt me!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marisa laughed uproariously at Reimu's reaction. "That… never gets old. Carry on."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yukari came over and told me that she had found someone trying to cross the border."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Eh?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Apparently, it was Himiko Scarlet." Reimu took a sip of her tea and a very deep breath to keep herself calm. "She was in a sorry state, apparently, and wanted to be allowed to leave to find Izuku."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh-oh."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And Yukari let her leave."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?! You're kidding me!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Unfortunately… no."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She let a </span>
  <em>
    <span>vampire</span>
  </em>
  <span> leave Gensokyo so she could find Izuku?'</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu sighed. "Yes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"DAMMIT, YUKARI!!" Marisa said, hitting the table so hard it flipped, shattering the saucers and Marisa's glass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That was about my reaction."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm gonna go beat up your gap bitch girlfriend."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Be my guest." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not kidding." Marisa said, quickly grabbing her broomstick and flying out of the building.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reimu finished her tea and cleaned up the broken glass, waiting for Marisa to return.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Only two hours later, there was a knock on the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Reimu? Are you home?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just a second!" Reimu yelled, rushing to the door. When she opened it, she saw Alice Margatroid levitating there, looking annoyed, as well as the floating unconscious form of Marisa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Somehow I think this was your fault." Alice said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Whatever could you mean?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well… I was minding my own buisness, taking a nap… when Marisa lands on top of me, in my bed, unconscious and injured."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's… interesting…" Reimu said, feigning ignorance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, after that I treated her wounds and I took her back here because I really didn't want her in my house."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hmmm…" Reimu said. "That is odd. Thank you for bringing her here, though." Reimu grabbed Marisa's hand and dragged her into the building. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you know who…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No. Have a good day and don't forget to leave a donation at the donation box!" Reimu said, closing the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she set Marisa's unconscious form down, she noticed her cheeks and nose were rosy and her eyes were glazed over: telltale signs of a sleeping spell. After performing a charm to undo the spell, Marisa woke up giggling like a maniac.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Was it worth it?" Reimu asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marisa continued giggling for a few seconds. "Absolutely," she said. "You know, when I came to, Alice was treating my wounds, all sweet-like… it was really nice, I just layed there. But when she realized I wasn' asleep, she started gettin' all flustery and put me to sleep with a spell!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really?" Reimu said, "Maybe you got hit so hard you imagined it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, no, no. You were right. She's totally into me!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Get out before you break anything else."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marisa continued laughing mischievously.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: A long chapter? Featuring neither of our main protagonists? What a tweest!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Izuku's First Spell Card</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Himiko watched intensely as Izuku began to walk out of the ring, but right before he was at the edge, he steadied himself and ran right back towards the purplet boy and shoved him out of the ring.</p><p>
  <em>Phew. Brainwashing powers are a real pain to deal with. It looks like he just beat it with sheer willpower… that’s my Izuku.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>“Remi… I’m worried. We haven’t heard from her in three days.”  Sakuya was pacing anxiously besides Remilia’s throne.</p><p>“Sakuya… she’s alright. I can still feel her string.” Remilia said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“What if she got herself into trouble again? I’m worried!”</p><p>“So am I.” Remilia said. “But… she isn’t a kid anymore.”</p><p>“I…I think I should go and check on her… with your permission, of course.”</p><p>Remilia pulled Sakuya into a kiss, startling her. “Of course,” she whispered after breaking the kiss. “but don’t lose your head with worry.”</p><p>“I won’t.” Sakuya said.</p><p>“Say hi to Izuku for me.”</p><p>“Alright.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Yukari was suddenly rudely awoken by a pat on the shoulder.</p><p>“Ran! What the hell did I tell you about letting me sleep...”</p><p>“I’m sorry milady, but you told me to wake you up when the U.A. Sports Festival came on…” Ran said sheepishly.</p><p>“Oh, right. Of course.” Yukari said, sighing and stretching her arms. “Carry on.”</p><p>“Yes, mistress.”</p><p>Yukari sat up in bed and opened a gap, which displayed a television screen.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p><strong>“He’s the powerhouse who’s been rocking his way through this tournament on sheer willpower and strength… it’s Izuku Midoriya!” </strong>Present Mic announced. <strong>“And in the other corner, the cool prodigy who has ended all of his fights in a single move, Shoto Todoroki!”</strong></p><p>Izuku looked to his opponent, who seemed even more angry than he usually did around him. He braced himself for impact and…</p><p>
  <strong>“FIGHT!”</strong>
</p><p>Within half a second, a glacier covered the arena.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Himiko gasped in horror as Izuku was subsumed by the glacier.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“Todoroki covers the entire battlefield once more! Is that the end, folks?”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Shut the fuck up, annoying announcer man… don’t count him out just yet…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>“Todoroki covers the entire battlefield once more! Is that the end, folks?”</strong>
</p><p>The ground shook.</p><p>And again.</p><p>Suddenly, the glacier <em>shattered. </em>Izuku emerged, green energy and chunks of ice surrounding him.</p><p>“You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that!” Izuku taunted.</p><p>“How…” Shoto began.</p><p>“You know, I always wondered why people never used their strongest attack first. Now I realize. Once you miss…” Izuku said, the energy in and around him intensifying, “there’s nowhere else to go but down.”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHkgtGQ6jRM">America Sign ~ Detroit Smash! Air Force!</a>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>A massive gust of wind picked up from Izuku, sending the shards of Todoroki’s glacier back at him. Shoto braced for impact against an ice ramp.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Yukari smirked as she watched Izuku shatter the glacier none the worse for wear.</p><p>
  <em>I knew he would get One for All from the Scarlet Devil’s prophecy… but this soon? Very impressive, Izuku. Even with Remilia bending fate to support you, you had to have quite the resolve to convince All Might you were worthy.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And now, with the wielder of One for All back in my corner, the advantage shifts back towards Gensokyo…</em>
</p><p>Yukari’s train (heh) of thought was cut off by a massive fire appearing around Todoroki on her screen.</p><p>
  <em>Endeavor’s son… he is very interesting as well… This day sure is full of surprises.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>“Finally decided you couldn’t beat me with one hand tied behind your back, huh?”</p><p>“Shut up!” Shoto said.</p><p>“Never!” Izuku responded, readying another attack.</p><p>“Prominence…” Shoto began.</p><p>“Kansas…” Izuku began</p><p>“SMASH!”</p><p>“Burn!”</p><p>For all watching the fight, live or on television, there was a brief moment when it all went orange.</p><p>Three seconds that felt like an eternity later, the smoke cleared.</p><p>“Shoto Todoroki and Izuku Midoriya are both out of the ring! It’s a draw!” Midnight announced.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Himiko breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>
  <em>Well… he didn’t win… but he did so well… I need to meet up with him soon. </em>
</p><p>Himiko paid for her food, and seeing that the sun was setting, quickly made her way out of the diner.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Marisa jolted up from a book she was reading as she felt something like a gust of wind sweep through her home. A sense of dread filled her as she heard someone yelling at her.</p><p>“I’ve just about had it with you, Marisa Kirisame!” Alice said, slamming the door open.</p><p>Marisa sighed. “You could’ve knocked.”</p><p>“I put up with you stealing my things a lot… but you have gone <em>too far</em> this time!”</p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p>“YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!”</p><p>“I didn’t do anything this time!”</p><p>“Marisa… <em>please</em>…” Alice pleaded, “I know you took it. It’s dangerous to even handle… please…”</p><p>“I didn’t take it! Last time I was at your house, you knocked me out, remember!”</p><p>Alice’s cheeks flushed red. “S-stop changing the subject!”</p><p>“No, I’m serious. I didn’t…”</p><p>“Give. It. Back. To me.”</p><p>“Alice…” Marisa said, as Alice jumped through the air at her. Marisa backpedaled, creating a volley of yellow star projectiles, all of which missed Alice.</p><p>“You call that an attack?” Alice taunted.</p><p>“No.” Marisa said, jumping at Alice to tackle-hug her out of the air. They landed with a <em>thud</em> on the floor.</p><p>“Get off of me!”</p><p>“Alice. Relax… take a deep breath, and start at the beginning,” Marisa said, cradling her head.</p><p>“Too…close…”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Reimu let out an annoyed groan at another knock at the door.</p><p>“What do you want?” she said, while opening the door.</p><p>“I would like to know where Himiko is.” Sakuya said.</p><p>“Well… I have some bad news for you.”</p><p>“Do tell.”</p><p>“Well, apparently, she ran all the way to the barrier and convinced Yukari to let her leave.”</p><p>“What?!” Sakuya said in disbelief. “Why would she go to…”</p><p>“I don’t know. That’s about all the information you’re going to get about this.”</p><p>“I just want to know where she is, alright!”</p><p>“I don’t <em>know</em>. Find out for yourself.”</p><p>“But…”</p><p>“<em>Goodbye.</em>” Reimu said, shutting the door on Sakuya. She let out a sigh of relief until she turned around to see Sakuya was inside the building.</p><p>“I do wonder… where is Izuku?”</p><p>“I don’t recall saying you could come inside!” Reimu yelled.</p><p>At blinding speeds, Sakuya examined the inside of the building. “I was wondering why he wasn’t here.”</p><p>“Get out!”</p><p>“Fine.” Sakuya disappeared as quickly as she had entered.</p><p>Reimu dropped to her knees and put her head in her hands. <em>Dammit… I’m so useless.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: There's a Touhou mobile RPG coming out soon.<br/>I am hyped as fuck.</p><p>Note: Decided to reduce the rating to T until the M content comes.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Misdirection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Izuku nervously entered the building, searching for his new teacher. What he saw was not at all what he expected; a man lying on the ground covered with what appeared to be blood and intestines. “HE’S DEAD!”</p><p>“I’m alive!” the old man said.</p><p>“YOU’RE ALIVE?”</p><p>“Er… Toshinori?”</p><p>“I’m Izuku Midoriya, I’m here for an internship.” Izuku said, trying to ignore the man’s seeming senility.</p><p>“Alright then kid, let’s get started.” Gran Torino said.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Gran Torino was simply too fast. Izuku could not land a single hit on the elder hero.</p><p><em>Visualize where he’ll be in two seconds… </em>Izuku thought. <em>No, his speed keeps changing. Feint and… </em>Izuku released a burst of compressed air in a seemingly far-off direction, intercepting the pro hero’s course, causing him to change course drastically. Izuku reached his hand out, attempting to clothesline him.</p><p>Torino passed within an inch of Izuku’s outstretched arm, and delivered an elbow to his kneecaps, causing him to fly up and land on his rear.</p><p>“Not a bad strategy, kid. You definitely would’ve caught someone less experienced with that.”</p><p>Izuku groaned in pain. “Thanks, I guess.”</p><p>“Misdirection is a solid play, but it only works once per move on a single opponent.” Gran Torino said. “Take that as a lesson. Don’t rely on moves like that. That’s how I survived fighting against time-wielding ninja maids.”</p><p>“Huh?” Izuku said. <em>That sounds like someone I know…</em></p><p>The elder hero chuckled. “I’m just pulling your leg, kid!”</p><p>“Oh. Okay.”</p><p>“Alright, I think you’re ready to go on your first patrol.”</p><p>“What? But I didn’t hit you at all!” Izuku said.</p><p>“I didn’t think you would, greenhorn. But you’re ready to go on a patrol, at least.”</p><p>“Let’s do it, then!”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p><em>That damn kid… one day in and he already ditches me to go off on some vigilante mission. Where the hell did you find this kid, Toshinori? </em>Sorahiko thought, as he used his Jet to navigate the nighttime skyline of Hosu City.</p><p>As he passed dozens of buildings at blinding speed, he saw someone out of the corner of his eye.</p><p>
  <em>Is that who I think it is… no fucking way.</em>
</p><p>He doubled back to the top of a massive building. There, with his own eyes, he saw a silver-haired woman with a young blond-haired girl.</p><p>
  <em>It’s really her, huh. Well, just my luck today.</em>
</p><p>“And just what the hell are <em>you</em> doing here?” Sorahiko said.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Himiko slinked around the Hosu alleyways, stalking Izuku, who was sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. <em>Well, it’s not stalking, </em>she thought. <em>I’m just following him to find the right time to introduce myself.</em></p><p>While she was completely focused on following behind Izuku, Himiko was suddenly grabbed in mid-air.</p><p>“What the hell…?!” Himiko said, but a finger was put up to her mouth.</p><p>“Shh…” Sakuya said, setting Himiko down on the roof she had flown them both up to.</p><p>“Mom? What the hell are you doing here?”</p><p>Sakuya suppressed a chuckle at being called ‘Mom,’ something Himiko hadn’t called her ever before, and said “I just wanted to keep you safe.”</p><p>“I’m being safe!” Himiko protested.</p><p>“Are you?” Sakuya said, touching the back of Himiko’s neck, which had a barely-healed sun scar on it.</p><p>“Please. Please don’t ruin this for me!”</p><p>“Relax.” Sakuya said.</p><p>“No, no, you don’t understand!”</p><p>“I understand. I’m not trying to tell you to turn back, Himiko. I want you to be happy too.” Sakuya said. “But…”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“There’s a man stalking around this city with <em>vampire hunter equipment</em>. I just didn’t want you to get killed running into him. You need to be more careful.” Sakuya said, patting Himiko on the head.</p><p>“Okay…” Himiko said quietly.</p><p>After both caught their breaths a little bit, a voice rang out from the other side of the roof.</p><p>“And just what the hell are <em>you</em> doing here?”</p><p>Sakuya tensed up. “Himiko.”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Get out of here.”</p><p>“Yes, ma’am.” Himiko got a running start and took off flying.</p><p>Sakuya stared down Torino, twirling a silvered knife. “You’re still alive.”</p><p>“And you somehow haven’t aged a day in fifty years!” Torino retorted.</p><p>Sakuya scoffed. “I doubt you’re going to do much better than back then.”</p><p>“What business does Remilia Scarlet have here, anyway?”</p><p>“None of your concern.” Sakuya said.</p><p>“I beg to differ.”</p><p>“Then beg.” Sakuya said, causing time to come to a standstill.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ0XlpHdh80">Illusion World ~ "THE WORLD"</a>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p><p><em>This isn’t good. She’s going all out. I wonder who that girl was… </em>Torino thought, as he was completely frozen in place. <em>I see an escape route… there.</em></p><p>As soon as time resumed functioning, Torino propelled himself with his Quirk through the flechette storm, then reversing his thrust towards Sakuya to power up his punch.</p><p>Right before his fist made contact with her, both Sakuya and the knives disappeared. For a second, he thought Sakuya had fled, but he thought better of it when he heard a strange sound. He looked up just in time to notice that a truly massive number of kunai had begun to descend upon him from multiple directions. Sorahiko put his Jet Quirk into overdrive attempting to dodge all of them; a few of which grazed his clothing, but he was none the worse for wear.</p><p><em>I’m too old to be fighting like this… </em>he thought, annoyed.</p><p>“Run out of knives yet?”</p><p>“No.” she replied flatly from somewhere above him.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <span class="u">Conjuring ~ "Mesmerizing Misdirection”</span>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>More large silvered knives fell like raindrops onto the roof of the building that they were fighting on. He rather easily dodged all of them.</p><p>“Is that really all you got?” he taunted. After a moment, he looked around to see that Sakuya was nowhere to be found. <em>Dammit. She got away.</em></p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Observing the conflict from a safe distance, Himiko marveled at the attacks on display.</p><p><em>She’s really pissed, </em>she thought. <em>I wonder what that old man did to piss her off so much. It’s impressive he’s even able to survive that.</em></p><p>After Mesmerizing Redirection finished, Sakuya reappeared behind Himiko. “You should get out of here.”</p><p>“But…”</p><p>“It’s not safe. You can meet up with him another day.”</p><p>Himiko groaned and sighed dramatically. “Fine.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: What!? I managed to stay on a single topic/time period for an entire chapter?! <br/>What is this heresy?</p><p>Also: For those not entirely familiar with Touhou, Illusion World ~ "The World" is an actual spell card that Sakuya has in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. I'm not making this up.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Silver Sword</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Alright. So, this is your first day of active patrol. We should set out after sunset, and…” Eri said.</p>
<p>“I thought we’ve been over this. I can be outside in the sun with adequate protection.” Lilith said, exasperated.</p>
<p>“Adequate protection? What does that entail?”</p>
<p>“Well… there’s this absolutely amazing, state of the art, cutting edge invention humans came up with called <em>sunscreen</em>.”</p>
<p>“Oh. Ask a stupid question, I guess…”</p>
<p>“Anyway. Let’s go save some people.” Lilith said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eri stared down the gigantic mammoth-like villain, utterly unfazed by his attempts at intimidation. He began to charge the hero.</p>
<p>Calmly, she ordered her intern, “Get on top of him and cut him up.”</p>
<p>“Yes, ma’am!” Lilith responded, readying herself.</p>
<p>Eri then activated her Quirk, as a small clock on her hip began to glow with the power of Rewind. The giant villain’s progress ground to a halt, as time seemed to move incredibly slow within the field.</p>
<p>Lilith, however, was completely unaffected, and began to cut up the villain as instructed.</p>
<p><em>It’s strange… </em>Eri thought. <em>I guess she isn’t affected by my Quirk because she’s a vampire, and vampires aren’t “organic” enough to be affected by Rewind? It’s a useful combination, whatever the reason.</em></p>
<p>Lilith hopped off of the villain as Eri moved to the side, and deactivated her Quirk, causing the villain to spiral to the concrete in pain and agony. Nearby heroes and police began the difficult process of restraining the villain, as Eri and Lilith moved on.</p>
<p>“Good job, Lily. That was really something.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” she said, bashful from all the eyes that were suddenly upon her.</p>
<p>“So…” Eri began, speaking quietly to her, “have you decided on your hero name yet?”</p>
<p>“No…” she said, “I still need to… think about it some more.”</p>
<p>“That’s fine. You still have a while.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Izuku stared down the dreaded Hero Killer: Stain, standing there menacingly, just as intimidating as his reputation would suggest.</p>
<p>“More faking kids here to play?” Stain mocked.</p>
<p>“Midoriya! Get out of here!” Iida, who was mysteriously not moving despite the villain brandishing a sword in front of him.</p>
<p>“No chance! I was trying to get you to back down from this bullheaded revenge quest… but I guess I have to beat up this serial killer now.”</p>
<p>“You’re cocky. Not a trait befitting of a true hero,” the Hero Killer taunted.</p>
<p>“Why are you two stuck?” Izuku said, ignoring the taunt and asking Iida and the hero Native, who was also paralyzed and slumped against a wall.</p>
<p>“Somehow when he cut us, we got paralyzed.” Native said.</p>
<p><em>Is it the sword…? </em>Izuku thought rapidly. <em>There’s something strange about that… hold on!</em></p>
<p>“Why do you have a silvered sword?” Izuku said in disbelief.</p>
<p>“Very perceptive!” Stain said. “At least you have a brain to back up your arrogance, unlike little Ingenium here! It was a gift from that crusty…”</p>
<p>“You…” Iida said.</p>
<p>Izuku observed the man’s unnaturally long tongue. “Blood Quirk,” he thought out loud.</p>
<p>“That’s it! I was paralyzed after he licked the blood from the cut.” Native realized.</p>
<p><em>So that’s how it works. Better not let that happen… only one person gets to drink my blood. </em>Izuku thought.</p>
<p>Stain growled. “Too smart. Let’s see how he fights!” Stain raised his silvered blade as if to decapitate Iida.</p>
<p><em>NO!</em> Izuku thought. Before his muscles could react, however, his Quirk did.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Reimu gnashed her teeth in frustration.</p>
<p><em>How could I be so careless? </em>she thought. <em>If I just hadn’t given the vampire girl the time of day, that maid wouldn’t be going after Izuku right now…</em></p>
<p>Her downward thought spiral was interrupted by a knock on the door.</p>
<p>“Come in!” she said.</p>
<p>Marisa and Alice entered the house, the former seeming bemused and the latter rather annoyed.</p>
<p>“I’m sure this is hard to believe, Reimu, but Alice is causing me yet more problems.” Marisa said.</p>
<p>“What did she do this time?” Reimu said, rolling her eyes.</p>
<p>“I didn’t do anything! Someone stole my spellbook…” Alice protested.</p>
<p>“And you immediately assumed I was responsible and started shouting accusations at me!”</p>
<p>“Well, it isn’t exactly a ridiculous assumption!” Alice retorted. “Anyway, since Marisa doesn’t have it, that means someone else stole it, which is a very very bad thing.”</p>
<p>“How bad?” Reimu asked. “Like on a scale from… annoying red mist to… the moon will impact with the earth in three days, how bad is it?”</p>
<p>“Really bad!” Alice said.</p>
<p>“Alright. Let’s go find your stupid book then.” Reimu said. <em>At least it’s something to do besides think about how badly I screwed up…</em></p>
<p>“Finally…” Alice said.</p>
<p>“But if I have to keep hearing you two argue like an old married couple, I am going to lose it!” Reimu said.</p>
<p>“You…” Alice said, cheeks red in embarrassment and anger.</p>
<p>Marisa giggled. “Let’s go, Alice.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Inky black tendrils emerged from Izuku’s wrists.</p>
<p><em>What the hell is that? I thought his Quirk was air control! </em>Stain thought. <em>This is certainly a strange ability…</em></p>
<p><em>What the hell is happening? </em>Izuku thought, as, without his prompting, the tendrils wrapped around Tenya’s paralyzed form, harshly pulling him far out of the way of Stain’s strike and setting him down roughly, away from the alleyway. The tendrils then wildly flared around, ensnaring the Hero Killer. <em>What is this? Why don’t I have any control over it?! Whatever… at least it’s fighting for me and restraining…</em></p>
<p>Stain growled like a caged tiger, moving his sword arm to struggle out of the stiff dark tendrils. To his surprise, the sword cut through the tendrils like a hot knife through butter. The tendrils decayed all the way until they reached Izuku’s wrists, which forcibly deactivated Blackwhip.</p>
<p><em>Whatever it is, it’s burned by silvered weapons. Got to keep that in mind…</em> Izuku thought, as he charged the power of One for All throughout his body.</p>
<p>The Hero Killer laughed maniacally, raising his sword towards Izuku. For a moment, it seemed to the onlookers that the sword was about to hit Izuku, but suddenly he feinted, delivering an acrobatic kick to the back of the villain’s head.</p>
<p>“Fuck!” he yelled, staggering to catch his footing.</p>
<p>Blackwhip activated once more without Izuku’s conscious input. <em>This is getting dangerous… I can’t control it!</em> The tendrils wrapped around the Hero Killer’s legs and his right arm, preventing him from using the blade to simply shear the tendrils again.</p>
<p>Izuku stomped on the Hero Killer’s shoulder blade, grabbing his blade to cleave himself free of the Blackwhip tendrils. Before the Hero Killer could press an advantage, Izuku brought the silvered blade up to his neck.</p>
<p>Stain chuckled. “I was beaten by a faker who couldn’t even control his own Quirk. How shameful.”</p>
<p>“Shut up.” Izuku said, as Tenya regained movement in his body. “Are you alright, Iida?”</p>
<p>“I will be fine. Thank you for rescuing…”</p>
<p>“Thank me later. Make sure Native…” Izuku said, but was cut off by the appearance of a strange creature with an exposed brain and wings: a Nomu.</p>
<p>Before any of the combatants could react to this sudden development, dozens of knives appeared around the Nomu, shredding it to pieces.</p>
<p>“WHAT?!” Tenya yelled in surprise.</p>
<p>“No way…” Izuku said in disbelief. He then realized that the sword which he had been holding up to Stain’s neck was now gone from his hand. Panic filled him until he saw the rope which had somehow been instantly tied around the Hero Killer’s arms and legs while under Izuku’s boot.</p>
<p>“What just happened?” Native said.</p>
<p>“FA-MMMM!!!” Stain tried to speak, only for he and the heroes to realize that he had also been gagged.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How can you not know where it is?” Alice said.</p>
<p>“I’m not omnipotent, Margatroid. I don’t know where your Grimoire is.” Yukari said.</p>
<p>“Maybe the Scarlet Devil’s maid stole it? She was prowling around the area at that time…” Reimu suggested.</p>
<p>“I sincerely doubt that. I’m keeping tabs on her, and if she had that thing on her person, I would definitely know.” Yukari said.</p>
<p>Reimu mentally relaxed a bit. <em>At least she isn’t going to be able to kidnap Izuku without Yukari noticing.</em></p>
<p>“Do you have any leads?”</p>
<p>“No, sadly…” Yukari said.</p>
<p>Alice groaned. “We’re not any closer to finding it…”</p>
<p>Marisa put an arm around Alice. “We’ll find it. Don’t worry.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After explaining his story to the police and barely getting off with a warning for vigilantism, Izuku and Gran Torino exchanged stories.</p>
<p>Izuku was certainly surprised that Sakuya had had some sort of history with his current teacher, which he refused to elaborate on. He didn’t mention that he had known Sakuya for years beforehand, or anything else he knew about her.</p>
<p>After getting back to the building he was staying at for the internship, he began to get ready for bed. While doing so, he noticed that there was a folded-up piece of paper in one of his pockets.</p>
<p>He unfolded it and read the contents, a few sentences in flowing script:</p>
<p>
  <em>“Sorry for disturbing your work. Just wanted to make sure you were safe. I’m so proud of you. – Sakuya Izayoi”</em>
</p>
<p>Izuku held back a tear reading the note.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: If you thought that was feels... you ain't seen nothin' yet.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Witch Fever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So we’ve beaten up every fairy in a three kilometer radius.” Marisa said.</p><p>“Don’t forget Rumia, Wriggle, and Mystia.” Reimu said.</p><p>“Yeah. At this point, we’re just working our way down the list.” Marisa responded. “There has to be a better way of going about this.”</p><p>“We just aren’t <em>trying hard enough!</em>” Alice said, with a malice (heh) in her voice that she had not given before.</p><p>“Alice?” Reimu questioned. “Are you… okay?”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Alice growled back at her.</p><p>Marisa took a closer look at Alice, and noticed what Reimu had instantly; Alice’s eyes were glowing a piercing red.</p><p>“Alice…” Marisa said, walking up to Alice and placing her hands on her shoulders. “You look… kind of… I don’t know, murderous?”</p><p>“D-don’t touch me!” Alice responded reflexively. Marisa frowned and took her hands off of Alice. “I…hu…uhh….” Alice sputtered and started breathing heavily.</p><p>“Alice?” Marisa questioned.</p><p>“What’s going on with her?” Reimu questioned.</p><p>The red glow vanished from her eyes and Alice suddenly collapsed, her doll familiars each falling to the ground with a thud. With some quick reflexes, Marisa caught Alice before she hit the ground. “ALICE!” she yelled.</p><p>“What in the world?” Reimu asked.</p><p>“We need to get her to the shrine!”</p><p>“Okay…” Reimu said, disconcerted.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Himiko was sitting in the hotel room she had (not-so-legally) checked out. She was sipping on some blood tea she had made herself rather shoddily. As it turns out, blood banks have rather lax security.</p><p><em>That was my chance. It was a lucky shot and Sakuya just had to ruin it! </em>Himiko thought, clenching her fists. She groaned dramatically.</p><p>“I do apologize for the intrusion.” Sakuya said.</p><p>Himiko was so startled she jumped all the way up to the ceiling.</p><p>“Sorry to scare you.” Sakuya said sardonically.</p><p>“You said you were leaving!” Himiko said as she caught her breath.</p><p>“I was… but I decided I would rather you not be living in hotels like this for a while.”</p><p>“What?” Himiko asked. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“Here you go.” Sakuya said, handing her a piece of paper.</p><p>Himiko unfolded it. “Is this…”</p><p>“Yes, that’s where he lives.” Sakuya said, patting Himiko on the head. “Go see your boyfriend.”</p><p>“He’s not… quit embarrassing me, mom!” Himiko said.</p><p>“Sure, sure.” Sakuya smiled.</p><p>Himiko murmured in embarrassment. “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Reimu and Marisa (and Alice, in Marisa’s arms) were rushing through the Forest of Magic towards the Hakurei shrine as quickly as they could run, because Marisa couldn’t fly and carry Alice at the same time.</p><p>Suddenly, Reimu stopped on a dime. “Guard!”</p><p>“What?” Marisa asked incredulously.</p><p>“Just do it!”</p><p>Marisa held up her mini-hakkero in a position as to guard Alice. Reimu quickly chanted an incantation.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>
      <span class="u">Dream Sign ~ “Evil-Sealing Circle”</span>
    </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>The magical circle formed, and as soon as it was completed, someone appeared right in its center.</p><p>“What the…” Sakuya muttered as she saw the circle under her feet.</p><p>“Gotcha.” Reimu said cockily.</p><p>“What is the meaning of this?” Sakuya asked.</p><p>“You’re going to tell us what you did with Izuku.” Reimu said.</p><p>“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything with him.” Sakuya said, completely sincerely.</p><p>“LIAR!” Reimu yelled.</p><p>“While you’re stuck in there… I guess my Master Spark will make you tell the truth!” Marisa said, charging a Master Spark.</p><p>“M-marisa…” Alice muttered quietly, her eyes flitting open. “…what’s going on…”</p><p>“Shhh…” Marisa whispered to Alice quietly. “I’ll get you somewhere safe in just a moment.”</p><p>“why… why are you carrying me?” Alice wondered quietly.</p><p>“Are you ready to tell the truth, Sakuya?” Reimu said. “Or is your mistress going to have to collect you in several pieces?!”</p><p>“Alright, alright.” Sakuya said, throwing up her hands. “Here’s the truth. I was there to check on Himiko. I ran into Izuku…”</p><p>“And?” Reimu asked, practically fuming at this point.</p><p>“I didn’t do anything to him. I made sure he was doing okay and then I left!”</p><p>“I still feel like you’re lying…” Reimu muttered.</p><p>“It’s the truth. Get a satori to check me, or something.” Sakuya snarked.</p><p>At that moment, Alice groaned in pain and buried her face in Marisa’s shoulder.</p><p>“We need to get Alice to the shrine, quickly.” Marisa said, putting down her weapon and resting one of her hands on the back of Alice’s head. “Let her go. It’s not worth it.”</p><p>Reimu sighed. “Fine. But if I find out you hurt a hair on his head, Sakuya…”</p><p>“I didn’t.” Sakuya insisted.</p><p>Reimu reluctantly let up her Evil Sealing Circle, making sure to keep a tight grip on her gohei.</p><p>Sakuya promptly disappeared before either Reimu or Marisa could change their minds.</p><p>Marisa let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>Alice muttered into Marisa’s shoulder, “mmm… arms….”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Izuku had had a very, very long week. It was at this moment he understood Reimu’s constant grumpiness with her work; keeping the peace was a very, very tiring task.</p><p>He flopped down onto his sofa, stretching out his sore muscles.</p><p>
  <em>I definitely went overboard with One for All… I might start breaking my bones if I keep using it like that. How stupid would that be, a hero who breaks his own bones?!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What was that black whip… tentacles… thing that my Quirk produced, anyway? Why was it burned by that silvered sword? For that matter, why did the Hero Killer have a silvered sword in the first place? There aren’t many youkai left outside of Gensokyo these days, are there? I guess if I got it under control I could use it to make danmaku… that would be fun…</em>
</p><p>Izuku’s thought process was interrupted by a knock at the door. He slowly and reluctantly got out of his comfortable position.</p><p><em>Who would want to see me at this hour? </em>He thought.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. An Old Man's Rambling Story</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Toshinori Yagi answered his phone, as a sense of dread filled him at the sight of his old teacher’s phone number.</p><p><em>“IZUKU MIDORIYA!”</em> Torino yelled through the phone line. <em>“In one week, he manages to get my teaching license suspended, get into a fight with an S-Class Villain, and unearth secrets I never wanted to think about again!”</em></p><p>“I apologize about the teaching license, sir.” Toshinori said apologetically.</p><p><em>“Eh. It doesn’t matter all that much. I only got it to teach your sorry ass.” </em>Torino stated. <em>“But where the hell did you even find this kid, Toshinori?”</em></p><p>“I… uh…”</p><p>
  <em>“Don’t actually answer that, I don’t want to know. But he’s strong. He takes well to instruction. Clearly he’s used to training of the caliber he needs.”</em>
</p><p>“Indeed.”</p><p>
  <em>“Oh. And he took out a damned S-Class Villain all by himself!”</em>
</p><p>“It was impressive.”</p><p>
  <em>“Even though he clearly went against protocol, the law, and my orders to do so!”</em>
</p><p>“Yes. But he made clear that he only went there with the intention to stop his friend from doing something foolish.”</p><p>
  <em>“He got off punishment on a technicality, so far as I’m concerned!”</em>
</p><p>“Ahem. So what did you mean by ‘unearth secrets?’” Toshinori asked.</p><p>Sorahiko growled through the line. <em>“There were a lot of things your mentor decided to keep secret. Especially from you.”</em></p><p>“What does Nana have to do with this?!” Toshinori asked.</p><p><em>“Everything, my boy.” </em>Sorahiko hesitated for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>“It all started with Lariat, the One for All before Nana,” Sorahiko began again. “After your greatest enemy, All for One, defeated his brother in combat, and his successor, and her successor, and so on… he tried… a different approach.”</p><p><em>“He isolated him.”</em> Toshinori said.</p><p>“Precisely. He found everyone who ever knew Lariat. His whole family. Any woman he’d ever dated. Anyone he made so much as contact with. Of course, All for One’s goal here was to isolate Lariat so when the time finally came that they fought, Lariat would have no one to pass his quirk on to. And it worked. Lariat was successfully isolated.”</p><p>
  <em>“Then… how did he survive?” </em>
</p><p>“He made a deal with the devil. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice.”</p><p>
  <em>“What do you mean, a deal with the devil?”</em>
</p><p>“Her name is Yukari Yakumo. She rules over her own small realm, known as Gensokyo. It is a small bubble in the mountains maintained by magic and her overwhelming power. No one enters… or leaves… without her knowledge and permission. And inside, well… are all the things we forgot. No longer believe in.”</p><p>
  <em>“The things… we forgot?”</em>
</p><p>“Youkai. Magic. Things man cannot catch the visage of and come away sane. Anyway, Lariat was granted asylum in Gensokyo, the one place in which All for One, even at the height of his power, had absolutely no influence over.</p><p>He-and One for All- were safe, but at a cost. He essentially became Yukari’s lap dog in the hero world. But even then, he was able to make considerable progress against All for One’s underground network.</p><p>But then he fell ill. Cancer. And he had no designated successor.”</p><p>
  <em>“How does Nana come into the picture, then?”</em>
</p><p>“Let me tell the story, dammit!” Sorahiko yelled. “Therefore, Yukari pointed him towards a young woman who was also in her employ. Nana Hakurei, shrine maiden of the Hakurei shrine.”</p><p><em>“WHAT?” </em>Toshinori yelled.</p><p>“Yes. ‘Hakurei’ was her maiden name. The Hakurei clan did, and probably still do, own the Hakurei shrine, which is the keystone in the Great Hakurei Barrier. That is what keeps Gensokyo isolated from the outside world. Nana was chosen to be the next successor of One for All. So Lariat trained her, and passed on the Quirk. Not long after, he succumbed to his illness. But before he did, he told Nana everything about what was going on in the outside world; the reign of villains, led by All for One.”</p><p><em>“And her sense of justice drove her to take action.”</em> Toshinori said.</p><p>“Indeed…” Sorahiko said wistfully. “She decided that action needed to be taken against All for One immediately. Yukari disagreed. For someone as ancient as her, she preferred to play the long game. So… Nana broke with Yukari, and abandoned her duties as the Hakurei shrine maiden to become a hero in the outside world.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>“So… what caused you to reveal these secrets she wanted hidden now, of all times?” Toshinori asked.</p><p><em>“Well, I ran into someone from Gensokyo yesterday.” </em>Torino said. <em>“Her name is Sakuya Izayoi. Her Quirk, if she’s even human, which I doubt, allows her to control time.”</em></p><p>“Control time?”</p><p>
  <em>“She can stop time at will. It’s one of the most powerful Quirks I’ve ever seen in my many years. And get this: when I fought her fifty years ago, she was almost exactly the same age as she was when I ran into her yesterday.”</em>
</p><p>“An immortality quirk? That is interesting… most of the immortality Quirks that we know of don’t have secondary powers.”</p><p>
  <em>“It’s likely that her immortality is a careful application of her Quirk, rather than being inherent. Neither Nana or I ever found out the true extent of her power. Anyway, she serves a vampire named Remilia Scarlet.”</em>
</p><p>Toshinori coughed up a little bit of blood at that. “A vampire?!”</p><p><em>“Yes, a vampire. Try to keep up, Toshinori.” </em>Sorahiko laughed. <em>“It seems that Gensokyo is making moves into the outside world again… which means something big is coming.”</em></p><p><strong><em>“You’re very correct, Sorahiko Torino.” </em></strong>A female voice rang from the line.</p><p>
  <em>“What?”</em>
</p><p>“Who is this?” Toshinori asked. “And how are you on this secure line?”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“You should know. After all… it’s rude to talk about someone who’s listening…” </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yukari Yakumo!?”</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“The very same~”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“Answer my question!” Toshinori boomed. “How were you able to enter this secured line?”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“No barrier of any kind can’t be bypassed by the youkai of boundaries!~”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>“What a non-answer…”</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“Anyway, All Might…”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“What do you want?”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“Now that you’re one of a few outsiders who knows about Gensokyo… I can tell you this much.”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>“Why you…”</em>
</p><p>Yukari ignored Torino and continued on, <strong><em>“I have been fighting the villain known as All for One for more than a century at this point. You and I are on the same side.”</em></strong></p><p>“What Sorahiko said about Nana… is it…”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“It’s true. What happened with her was certainly… unfortunate. But I’m hoping the two of us can… have a better working relationship.”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Toshinori stayed silent.</p><p><strong><em>“Well, g̸̢͇͙̺̘̟̯̝̖̬̖̺̫̘͖̥̯̬̱͚̰͎̪͇̠͇̻̩̺͔͈̜̙̈ǫ̷̧̨̧̢̧̜̤̯͖͖̻̹̘̙̻̭̫̜͈̬͈̭͇̜̬̬̹̦̠̞̻̺̩̺̘͎͉̹͑̉͆͆̊͒͒̍̍̈̈͗́̾̍̿͛̂̂̊̑͆̀̅̽̒̓̐̒̄͆̏͐͒̚̚͘̕̕̕̚͜͝͝͠͝ͅo̴̧̨̢͕̘̪̲̣̟̣̺͙̫͉̞͇̩̭̹͒̀̎̽̊̃̽̈́̈̔̅̍̌̈́͊̾͜͝͠ͅd̶̡̧̨̦̳̯̬͔̬̳̬̘̯̑̈͋̀̈́̀̄̅̓͗̌̐͌b̴̧̡̧̨̡̡̥͓̝̥͈̲͙͍̝̘̰͕̫̫͇̞̗͚̲̘͉͍̼̭̤̥͔̦͉̺̲̫̥͖̞̬͓̰̟̫̏͆̑͑̏͋̑̔̐̑͊͘͜͜ͅy̴̪͖̝̖̩̲̱̬̙̐̃͐͆̊̓̔̿̓̽͒̈́͌̐̂̉̌̋͑̾̍̈̌̈́̉̚̚͘͜ë̸̛̛̮̤̺́̊͗̃̾͋͆͋̑͋́̾̋́͘͘͜͝͠ ̷̨̡̛̪̫̗̠̱̺͓̬̹̘̲̬͉̳͔͙͎̥̲̳̠̗̲̾͆͐̉̈́̓̒̉̈͂̎͊͌̾͌̌̃̓̆͌̏͑̊̊̽͜͜͜͝ͅf̶̨̛̛͔̲͈̬̥̳͕̹̩̪̞͚͔̬̥̞̹̦͓͓͇͚̳̠͎̳̿͆̈̓͑̽͑́̈́͗̑̂̽̅̈́̿̍̄͋͗̕͝ͅͅǫ̷̧̨̛̖̥̞͇̝͖̮̮̱͚͙̞̣̤̤̙͖̖͖̪̜̝̹̟̦͕̭̯̙͓̭̲̬͙̣͇͍̝̲̂̑͗͂͛͂́̽̋̈́͋͌͌̈́͛̒͊̈͗̀̇́͊̋̈́̃̎͑͑̈́̓̏̂̊̊̕̕̕͘͝͝͠͝͠͠͝ͅr̵̲̱̗͎͎̬̣̥͖͚͕̗̝͔̜̜̥͓̒͒̐͜͝͝ͅ ̸̢̡̢̨̡̢̛͓̹̜͔̙̬̲̲͓̹͖̹̯͚̲͔̹̗̟̺̰̹̥̦͚͈͔͙͚͈̼̯̗̟͔̖̳̮͉͈̥͕̰͔̰̗͊̈̋̽͜͜͜͠ͅn̸̳̘̹̑̂̓͐͛̎͛̐̃̈́̃̐̎͒̋̓͂̿͆̿̉̿͌̓͋̇̅̀̀̐̎̂̏͆̔̒͂̅͒̈́̍̿͑̚͘͝o̷̡̡̨̨̻̤̖͉͉͕͓̻̱͇̻̻͇̫͈̺͆͛̈́̈́͋͐̆̉̿͋͛͌̊̊̿̂͐̀́̏͗̾̋̈́̈̑̋͊̆̒͆̉͘͜͝ͅw̶̺̭̼̣̣̽͆̌̆̈̄̐̎̉̈́.̸̧̧̧̛̛̲̗̣̙͕̹͓̣̞͔̳̪̟̺̞̪̖̳́̌̒̂͒̉̌̀̓͗̐̒̉̾̋͋̾̑̉̂͆̈̓̔̄͗̍̅̓͗́͑̂͊̉̄̏͑̽̒͛̈́̇͐̓͗̑͑̕̚͘͘̚̚̕͜͜͝͝.̴̧̡̢̢̧̛̫̺͕̯̲̳̯̖̫̭͙̩̳͙͖̣̞̖̠̳̗̺̳̥̥͇͔͔͕̩̰̺͍̙̯͖̯͖͎͙̹̮̯̜̳̣͎̿͑̾͆̽̌̅̐̌̈́͌̆̄͛͌̓̋̐̂́̓̎́̊̊͊̀̈́̅͆͊̋͆̒̐̌͌̔̓̐͒̇̆͒́̐͐́̌͜͝͠͝.̴̡̢̡̛̰͈̲͎̗͓̩̜̗̲̱̲͓̦̱̩̬͚̿̅̀̎̐́̈́͑̎̄̋͛͌̓̉̿̀̚͜,” </em></strong>Yukari’s voice slowly faded out of audibility until it was a strange screech, and then cut out entirely.</p><p><em>“Dammit!”</em> Torino yelled. <em>“Cut the damn call, Toshinori!”</em></p><p>“Yes, sir.” Toshinori said, and hung up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Thought we'd continue from where we left off? Nope! This arc has more loose ends than a frayed knot and I suck at resolving them.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Lots and Lots of Feelings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Groggily, Izuku opened the door. “Who’s…”</p>
<p>His jaw dropped when he saw that Himiko Scarlet was standing on his porch. “H-hi,” she said bashfully.</p>
<p>Izuku stammered. “I… Himiko?”</p>
<p>“You know… I spent all the time I was coming here wondering what I was going to say, but I… but I have no idea what to say.” Himiko said, lowering her head.</p>
<p>Izuku simply pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay… you don’t have to say anything.”</p>
<p>Himiko was momentarily taken aback by this, but quickly returned his embrace. “Thank you…”</p>
<p>They stood like that for what felt to them like an eternity, even though it was probably only a minute.</p>
<p>Finally, Himiko broke the silence. “You know… It’s kinda weird, you’re taller than me now,” she teased.</p>
<p>“I… uhh… yeah, I guess so.”</p>
<p>“I <em>could</em> stand like this all night…” Himiko said, causing Izuku to fluster a little, “but I think we should take it inside.”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” Izuku said, reluctantly letting go of Himiko and stepping back into the house.</p>
<p>Himiko stayed put. “Izuku… uh…” she stammered, “May I come in?”</p>
<p>Izuku let out a chuckle at that.</p>
<p>“It’s not funny!”</p>
<p>“Sorry, sorry…” he said. “Of course you can come in.”</p>
<p>“Yay!” she said, practically tackling him through the doorway and up against a wall. “Hmm, it used to be harder to do that. Guess you really are growing up~”</p>
<p>“H-himiko!” he stammered in embarrassment.</p>
<p>She sighed. “I missed you.”</p>
<p>“I missed you, too.”</p>
<p>At that moment, the dam broke. All of that pent-up sadness that Himiko had from the last few years just came back to the forefront of her mind. She broke into tears.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong?” Izuku said, concerned.</p>
<p>“I… I… I’m sorry…” she muttered between sobs. “I sh-should’ve… been a better… friend… and… I…”</p>
<p>Izuku preempted her by putting his hand on the back of her head, gently running his fingers into her hair, and pulling her into a warm embrace. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”</p>
<p>Himiko continued crying for a while.</p>
<p>“It’ll be okay…” he whispered to her.</p>
<p>Himiko stood up and dried out her eyes. “Geez, it does really seem like I was crying for sympathy for there…”</p>
<p>“No, no, I understand,” Izuku reassured her.</p>
<p>“Well, I really just made things awkward, didn’t I.” Himiko muttered. “Let’s catch up!”</p>
<p>“Yes, please… I have so many things to tell you!”</p>
<p>“Good. I could listen to you talk for an eternity.”</p>
<p>“I-uh…” Izuku flustered. “Want something to eat?”</p>
<p>“Of course.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Marisa softly set Alice’s form down on the bed. She had fallen back into unconsciousness after the terrifying ordeal with the maid had woken her up.</p>
<p>Without the threat of immediate danger, Marisa took a second to notice Alice’s condition, which did her rapidly mounting anxiety no favors: Alice’s face was red, her breathing was sharp and shallow, and she was sweating.</p>
<p><em>Poor thing… what happened to you?</em> Marisa thought. She placed her left hand on Alice, gently caressing her cheek. She felt very warm. <em>Oh no, she’s burnin’ up! That can’t be good…</em></p>
<p>“Make sure she doesn’t get up and strain herself more.” Reimu said. “Although I’m pretty sure you were going to be glued to her, anyway.”</p>
<p>“Mhmmm…” Marisa said absentmindedly. “She’s got a fever. Do you have anything here that…”</p>
<p>“For humans, yeah… but for youkai, I don’t know.” Reimu said.</p>
<p>“Find something!” Marisa snapped.</p>
<p>“I don’t know how she would react to my remedies, though!” Reimu said, a little panicked.</p>
<p>“Do you have… uhh… kudzu root extract? That helps both humans and magicians, I’m pretty sure.” Marisa said.</p>
<p>“Let me look.” Reimu said, hurrying over to her shelves.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, Alice…” Marisa whispered to her softly. “I’m gonna make sure you get better…”</p>
<p>“Found some!” Reimu said. She got out a jar with some kudzu root extract in it and some warm water, and mixed them in a small bowl. “Here. Give her this.”</p>
<p>Marisa very gently leaned Alice’s head up so her mouth hung open, and carefully poured the medicine in.</p>
<p>“We should call Eirin.” Reimu said.</p>
<p>“Good idea.” Marisa said, looking at Alice, who was whining quietly in her unconsciousness. “But I’m not leaving her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How’s school treating you, though? I mean… like… how do you feel about it?”</p>
<p>“It’s… it’s challenging, but rewarding, you know?” Izuku said. “I feel like I can really do good in the world.”</p>
<p>Himiko smiled sweetly at him. “I’m happy for you!”</p>
<p>“I…uh… thank you. But I feel like we’ve kind of avoided the obvious question…” he said awkwardly.</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Himiko said.</p>
<p>“Uh… how did you even get here?”</p>
<p>“I… uh…” Himiko trailed off, “I had to get on my knees and basically beg Yukari to let me see you.”</p>
<p>“Why would… why would you…”</p>
<p>“Because I <em>missed you,</em> dammit!” she snapped. Under her breath, she added, “…guess I’m not even gonna try to hide how desperate I really am…”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry.”</p>
<p>“Don’t… I… let me just put this another way.” Himiko said, hopping into Izuku’s lap.</p>
<p>“Himiko?” Izuku muttered, face red.</p>
<p>Himiko didn’t respond verbally, instead, she brought Izuku in for a kiss.</p>
<p>Izuku’s mind went blank.</p>
<p>The next thing he knew, Himiko was over him, giving him a toothy smile and giggling like a maniac. “I take it you liked that, then, given how you just froze~” she teased.</p>
<p>It took him a moment before he could force himself to speak. “I… uh… thank you.”</p>
<p>Himiko continued giggling while nuzzling him affectionately. After a while, she bothered to look out the window.</p>
<p>“Oh. We spent so long making out we didn’t realize it was raining.” Himiko said.</p>
<p>Izuku was too embarrassed by that statement to respond coherently.</p>
<p>“I guess I can’t leave…” Himiko said.</p>
<p>“I… uh…” Izuku cleared his throat. “I wasn’t going to make you leave, Himiko.”</p>
<p>“Awww, you’re the sweetest!” she yelled excitedly.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Yep. This was the chapter I was building up to a whole lot.<br/>This one hit me with writer's block a few times so idk how good it is.</p>
<p>Anyway, the next chapter starts a new arc: we're going to I-Island!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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